Tungsten phosphide on nitrogen and phosphorus-doped carbon as a functional membrane coating enabling robust lithium-sulfur batteries.

Lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs) hold great potential as future energy storage technology, but their widespread application is hampered by the slow polysulfide conversion kinetics and the sulfur loss during cycling. In this study, we detail a one-step approach to growing tungsten phosphide (WP) nanoparticles on the surface of nitrogen and phosphorus co-doped carbon nanosheets (WP@NPC). We further demonstrate that this material provides outstanding performance as a multifunctional separator in LSBs, enabling higher sulfur utilization and exceptional rate performance. These excellent properties are associated with the abundance of lithium polysulfide (LiPS) adsorption and catalytic conversion sites and rapid ion transport capabilities. Experimental data and density functional theory calculations demonstrate tungsten to have a sulfophilic character while nitrogen and phosphorus provide lithiophilic sites that prevent the loss of LiPSs. Furthermore, WP regulates the LiPS catalytic conversion, accelerating the Li-S redox kinetics. As a result, LSBs containing a polypropylene separator coated with a WP@NPC layer show capacities close to 1500 mAh/g at 0.1C and coulombic efficiencies above 99.5 % at 3C. Batteries with high sulfur loading, 4.9 mg cm-2, are further produced to validate their superior cycling stability. Overall, this work demonstrates the use of multifunctional separators as an effective strategy to promote LSB performance.

Safety and effectiveness of apatinib in elderly patients with metastatic gastric cancer: a sub-analysis from the large-scale, prospective observational study of apatinib for gastric cancer treatment in a real-world clinical setting (AHEAD-G202).

Background: Apatinib was shown to improve the survival of Chinese patients with refractory metastatic gastric cancer (mGC). As an orally administered drug, it has been widely used in elderly patients because the dosing schedule can be adjusted flexibly. However, data on the efficacy and safety of apatinib in elderly patients is scarce. The aim of this study was to evaluate the toxicity and effectiveness of apatinib for elderly patients with mGC in a real-world setting. Methods: Data from the sub-population of patients who were ≥65 years enrolled in the AHEAD-G202 trial were analyzed. Patients with mGC were prospectively registered and initially received ≤850 mg oral apatinib daily combined or not combined with chemotherapy, at the investigator's discretion. The primary endpoint was safety. The secondary endpoints were overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). Results: A total of 117 patients were included. There were 51 (43.59%) patients in the low-dose (250 mg) group, 60 (51.28%) patients in the mid-dose (425 to 500 mg) group, and 6 (5.13%) patients in the high-dose (850 mg) group according to the initial daily doses. Hypertension (6.84%) was the only grade 3-4 adverse event (AE) with a prevalence of more than 5% and across the low-dose (11.76%), mid-dose (3.33%) and high-dose group (0%). The median OS and PFS were 7.13 months (95% CI: 5.04 to 9.22 months) and 4.27 months (95% CI: 3.24 to 5.29 months), respectively. The OS and PFS were similar among the 65-74 and ≥75 years groups (χ2=1.406, P=0.306; χ2=0.378, P=0.066, respectively). The OS and PFS were also comparable among the 3 dose groups. Conclusions: Elderly patients with mGC can tolerate and benefit from apatinib therapy. A lower initial daily dosing strategy may be a suitable choice for elderly patients in clinical practice.

Ginsenoside Rb1 improves brain, lung, and intestinal barrier damage in middle cerebral artery occlusion/reperfusion (MCAO/R) micevia the PPARγ signaling pathway.

Ischemic stroke causes brain inflammation and multi-organ injury, which is closely associated with the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPARγ) signaling pathway. Recent studies have indicated that ginsenoside Rb1 (GRb1) can protect the integrity of the blood-brain barrier after stroke. In the current study, a mouse model of middle cerebral artery occlusion/reperfusion (MCAO/R) was established to determine whether GRb1 can ameliorate brain/lung/intestinal barrier damage via the PPARγ signaling pathway. Staining (2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride, hematoxylin, and eosin) and Doppler ultrasonography were employed to detect pathological changes. Endothelial breakdown was investigated with the leakage of Evans Blue dye and the expression of TJs (tight junctions) and AJs (adherent junctions). Western blot and immunofluorescence were used to determine the levels of cell junction proteins, PPARγ and NF-κB. Results showed that GRb1 significantly mitigated multi-organ injury and increased the expression of cerebral microvascular, pulmonary vascular, and intestinal epithelial connexins. In brain, lung, and intestinal tissues, GRb1 activated PPARγ, decreased the levels of phospho-NF-κB p65, and inhibited the production of proinflammatory cytokines, thereby maintaining barrier permeability. However, co-treatment with GRb1 and the PPARγ antagonist GW9662 reversed the barrier-protective effect of GRb1. These findings indicated that GRb1 can improve stroke-induced brain/lung/intestinal barrier damagevia the PPARγ pathway.

1T MoS2growth from exfoliated MoS2nucleation as high rate anode for sodium storage.

Recently, metallic 1T MoS2has been investigated due to its excellent performance in electrocatalysts, photocatalysts, supercapacitors and secondary batteries. However, there are only a few fabrication methods to synthesize stable 1T MoS2. In this work, exfoliated MoS2is employed as seed crystals for the nucleation and growth of a stable 1T MoS2grains by an epitaxial growth strategy. The 1T MoS2displays a large interlayer spacing around 0.95 nm, excellent hydrophilia and more electrochemically active sites along the basal plane, which contribute an efficient ion/electron transport pathway and structural stability. When employed as the anode material for sodium ion batteries, the 1T MoS2electrodes can survive 500 full charge/discharge cycles with a minimum capacity loss of 0.40 mAh g-1cycle-1tested at a current density of 1.0 A g-1, and the capacity degradation is as low as 0.39 mAh g-1cycle-1at a current density of 2.0 A g-1.

Safety and effectiveness of apatinib in patients with previously treated metastatic gastric cancer: a sub-analysis from the real-world study of apatinib for gastric cancer treatment (AHEAD-G202).

Apatinib, a VEGFR2 receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor, showed survival benefits in Asian patients with heavily pretreated advanced gastric cancer. However, the adverse event (AEs) profile of apatinib has limited its use. Dosing schedules are used to alleviate toxicities despite no supportive evidence. This study aimed to analyze the toxicity and effectiveness of apatinib alone, especially with different dosing strategies in advanced gastric cancer patients under a real-world setting. Data from the subpopulation of patients who failed ≥2 chemotherapy regimens enrolled in the AHEAD-G202 trial were analyzed. The primary endpoint was safety. The secondary endpoints were overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). Totally 120 patients were included into three groups by the initial daily doses: 43 (35.8%) patients in the low-dose (250 mg) group, 67 (55.8%) patients in the mid-dose (425 mg to 500 mg) group, and 10 (8.3%) patients in the high-dose (675 to 850 mg) group. Grade 3/4 treatment-emergent AEs were infrequent (<5%), with the most commonly reported grade 3/4 AEs being hand-foot syndrome (4.2%), hypertension (4.2%,), fatigue (4.2%), and difficulty in swallowing (4.2%) which gradually decreased among the high-, mid-, and low-dose groups. The median OS and PFS were 6.33 months (95% CI, 4.57-7.73) and 3.83 months (95% CI: 1.40-4.20), respectively and were comparable among the three doses groups. We found heavily pretreated advanced gastric cancer patients can tolerate and benefit from lower-doses of apatinib therapy. The lower initial daily dosing strategy represents an alternative approach for optimizing apatinib dosing in clinical practice.

An open label, multicenter, noninterventional study of apatinib in advanced gastric cancer patients (AHEAD-G202).

BACKGROUND: Apatinib has been proved to be effective and well tolerated among patients in phase II and III studies. Here, we evaluated the safety and effectiveness of apatinib in advanced gastric cancer patients in a real-world setting. METHODS: This study enrolled advanced gastric cancer patients who had progressed or relapsed despite systemic chemotherapy. The primary outcome was safety and the secondary outcomes included overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). RESULTS: A total of 337 patients were included. In total, 62 (18.4%), 102 (30.3%), and 173 (51.3%) patients received first, second, and third or higher line apatinib therapy, respectively. Grade 3/4 treatment-emergent adverse events (AEs) were infrequent (<5%), with hypertension (6.8%) being the only grade 3/4 AE occurring in more than 5% of the patients and across the low-dose (250 mg, 7.3%), mid-dose (425-500 mg, 6.1%), and high-dose group (675-850 mg, 2/15, 13.3%). The median OS and PFS were 7.13 months (95% CI, 6.17-7.93) and 4.20 months (95% CI, 4.60-4.77), respectively, and were comparable among the low-, mid-, and high-dose groups. CONCLUSION: Lower daily doses of apatinib achieved comparable OS and PFS versus higher daily doses of apatinib while maintaining a more benign safety profile in advanced gastric cancer patients. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02668380.